Reno Gazette-Journal Reno, Nevada Saturday, April 22, 1972 - Page 5
EVANS ON CHESS
H. Hermanson, Sweden
Problem: (04/22/1972) White mates in two.
Stockfish Analysis.
For Love Or Money
Presumably a professional does for money what an amateur does for love. When 17-year-old Chris Evert turned back a $4,400 tennis prize to retain her amateur status, she said ruefully, “I just hope that next year I can take the money.”
In chess there is no distinction between amateur and pro. Prize money, though meager, is shared by anyone good enough to win it. No apologies are owed: no choices are demanded. Fortunately chess has always been free from that cruel sham.
A chessmaster on the tournament circuit wins next to nothing, but his burning ambition is to create a handful of immortal games. In international events it is customary to pay all expenses of invited masters and to provide pocket money.
Most top players have had to stifle their love for chess because of the difficulty of earning a living from it. So they either give it up or return to the game when they are past their prime.
In Russia grandmasters are subsidized. Promising youngsters are encouraged and trained by the state. Chess stars are besieged by fans whenever they appear in public.
Chess supremacy over the centuries has shifted from Italy to Spain to France to England to Germany to the U.S.A. to the USSR. Yet where the individual genius will arise is unpredictable. The Cuban Capablanca, the Estonian Keres, the Dutch-man Euwe, to name a few, all came from nations which never before or since produced a master of even remotely comparable strength. Here is a game which bears the unmistakable stamp of genius. Yet the winner is an amateur who has never been heard of.
New Orleans 1925 |
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White: ADAMS 1 P-K4 2 N-KB3 3 P-Q4 4 QxP 5 B-QN5 6 BxN 7 N-B3 8 0-0 9 N-Q5 10 PxB 11 B-N5 12 P-B4 13 PxP 14 KR-K1 15 R-K2 16 QR-K1 17 BxN! 18 Q-KN4! 19 Q-QB4! 20 Q-B7! 21 P-QR4! 22 R-K4! 23 QxNP! |
Black: TORRE P-K4 P-Q3 PxP N-QB3 B-Q2 BxB N-B3 B-K2 BxN 0-0 P-B3 PxP R-K1 P-QR4? R-QB1(a) Q-Q2 BxB Q-N4 Q-Q2 Q-N4 QxRP Q-N4 Resigns (b) |
(a) Imperative is 15…N-Q2. |
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PROBLEM SOLUTION: 1 N-Q3! threatening 2 R-B4. If 1…B-Q5 2 QxBP.
